As Capital One’s Tom Poole, Prove’s Rodger Desai, and Citadel’s Chris Palumbo tell Karen Webster, the next era of payments will erase the line between identity and transaction. Authentication won’t feel like a step in the process. It will be the process itself, where trust has to be built in, not bolted on.

Nova Credit CEO Misha Esipov argues that the credit industry doesn’t just need better data. He believes it needs a new standard that measures consumers’ financial lives in real time, not through the rearview mirror of traditional credit scores.

Raj Seshadri, Chief Commercial Payments Officer at Mastercard, explores how AI and data are giving CFOs new ways to manage cash flow, working capital, and risk, while mobilizing partners across the B2B ecosystem to accelerate growth. The discussion highlights how CFOs are already putting AI into practice, the cultural and talent shifts needed to capture its value and why those who embrace intelligence at scale will define the future of payments.

For our sixth annual B2B Payments event, PYMNTS Chief Content Officer John Gaffney sits down with CEO Karen Webster to open four weeks of conversations on how artificial intelligence is reshaping B2B payments. We’ll explore what the connection between AI and B2B really looks like, the new use cases emerging, and what it will take to move from curiosity to adoption. From agentic AI and adaptive CFOs to active cash flow management and the risks of moving faster than governance can support, CEOs, CFOs and financial leaders will share how AI is transforming finance today — and what the conversation may look like by next year.

New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne Harris leaves office emphasizing the state’s leadership in shaping modern financial regulation. She tells PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that her successor, Kaitlyn Asrow, will continue advancing the “department of YES” approach that balances innovation with consumer protection.

Leaders from Visa Direct, TabaPay and OneUnited Bank discuss why instant account funding has become a competitive must-have, the measurable business benefits of Account Funding Transactions (AFTs) and how to implement real-time solutions effectively.

Velera's Jeremiah Lotz tells PYMNTS that a consortium approach to data collection and use can help credit unions.

Entersekt's Pradheep Sampath tell PYMNTS that fighting fraud demands a blend of traditional data and a consortium approach.

Plaid’s next five years probably won’t look much like the last five, CEO Zach Perret tells Karen Webster. Data and the insights it offers the broader payments and financial services ecosystem position the company as a critical identity and data aggregation layer in an emerging “agentic” financial world.

WorkWhile COO Simon Khalaf says the company’s AI-driven labor OS is reshaping the workforce — matching workers to jobs with precision.